Joburg storm: Traffic lights out, dangerous road conditions – Be safe!

Gauteng residents woke up to widespread downpours and thunderstorms on Tuesday morning – a proper Joburg storm in the truest sense of the word.

This, in turn, resulted in dangerous road conditions, vehicle pile-ups, and out-of-order traffic lights.

If you have to be on the road this morning, take note of the following warnings:

Joburg weather: 9 March

The South African Weather Service (Saws) warned Gauteng residents to not leave their umbrellas at home when they go to work on Tuesday.

The weather service expects isolated showers and thundershowers in parts of Gauteng including Pretoria, Johannesburg and Vereeniging.

Meanwhile, Saws issued yellow level 2 warnings for severe thunderstorms in the eastern parts of the Northern Cape, the southern parts of the Free State, and the northern parts of the Eastern Cape.

Watch: Road Safety tips

See and be seen: Remember to turn on your headlights when driving in the rain. It’s also important to reduce speed and maintain a safe following distance.

Avoid braking suddenly as your vehicle may skid on wet roads, and beware of oil patches – it’s extra slippery when mixed with water.

Also, remember:

• Be aware of your blind spots
• Wait a few seconds when it starts to rain before using the wipers as dry wipers may smudge the windshield.
• Ensure wiper blades are replaced when worn down.
• Change to a lower gear when going around a bend.

ALSO READ: Isolated showers and thundershowers expected in Gauteng on Tuesday

Eastern Cape thunderstorms

The community has been warned to look out for localised flooding of susceptible roads, low-lying areas and bridges, as well as localised damage to infrastructure, settlements (informal), property, vehicles, livelihoods and livestock.

This as the country battles storms and rainfall which, according to SAWS forecaster Kumsa Masizana, is normal.  

“This kind of system will persist until the end of February into March,” Masizana said. 

NOW READ: Level 2 warning issued for severe thunderstorms in EC

Joburg storm: find the humour…

One resident summed up the weather and the current state of the world quite succinctly: “I woke up with that ‘tumbling’ feeling, the weather’s not helping either”. Another described it as a “freak storm”.

The comment of the day, however, has to be from Natasha Huckfield: “The nice thing about Joburg weather right now is that you can see electricity in the sky, but you can’t have it in your house.”

“It’s quite cool in a medieval sort of way”, she adds.